Shadowrun Returns - Review Roundup #2

Ultimately, I suppose, this feels like a vindication of the “hey, let’s do nostalgia and turn-based RPGs” thing on Kickstarter. I’ve always been sceptical of the inclination to look to the past, but this is actually giving us something we wanted. Something we needed. In this case I feel like it was filling a void. A rain-slick, turn-based, isometric elf-shaped void with mirrorshades and a shotgun.

This is the Shadowrun game we’ve been waiting for. Going back to its roots, Shadowrun Returns is easily one of the best entries in the series. With a lengthy campaign (which deserves to be played multiple times with different classes) and the limitless possibility of user created content; Shadowrun Returns is giving you a lot for its $20 price point. Does it have flaws? Yes, but If you’re a fan of tactical role-playing games, and enjoy the dystopian, cyber punk theme, than you owe it to yourself to check out Shadowrun Returns.

I'm very pleased to see a good new RPG in this classic isometric style, and its The Dead Man's Switch story has some well-told twists while it lasts, and the light tactical combat has enough depth to make it a worthwhile adventure. But the bite-sized scope and limited choices available make me more interested to see what Shadowrun Returns will be a year from now, after the community has used the included mod tools to build on it, than in what it is today.

Shadowrun Returns is the type of game that has long been abandoned by the mega-publishers of the gaming landscape. It eerily feels like the Shadowrun games of old (shooter excluded), though it’s noticeably more polished and has a coat of visual and audio gloss on it that lets it stand shoulder to shoulder with anything being released in proximity. For the uninitiated, Shadowrun Returns will be a brilliant introduction to one of the most imaginative works of fiction that has ever graced the gaming world. Newcomers will surely need to put some time in to get up to speed, but this game makes this pretty easy to get sucked in to the universe right away. Sure, because of the type of game that this is, it won’t be for everyone, but this is Shadowrun at it’s finest, and it never has been.

And yet with all its failings, I thoroughly enjoyed Shadowrun Returns. This is the first time in years we've seen an ambitious isometric RPG from anyone other than Spiderweb Software, and I loved playing it. It's the first million-dollar crowdfunded game to actually come to market, an excellent final product that sets the bar high for future Kickstarter-funded games.

-- In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. Douglas AdamsA lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. Winston ChurchillSome cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. Oscar Wilde

I’ve always been sceptical of the inclination to look to the past, but this is actually giving us something we wanted.

Wow am I tired of this idiotic observation. Yeah, they're giving their customers what they want. There's no downside to that. It's like saying nobody should make western films anymore, since that's all been done now. That genre is expired. Let's keep moving on to new genres every year, maybe a reality-tv style movie.

I think Rock, Paper, Shotgun has the right idea that other gaming sites need to adapt; no numerical score. You wanna know what the reviewer thought,?: You have to actually read the review. I mean, we get so hung up on what score is given, but the score isn't always representative of how much the reviewer enjoyed the game. For one thing, we all have slightly different ideas of what an X out of 10 is.

Spoiler

Also, there's the issue of many review sites who are worried about pissing off the publishers who advertise on their site, so they reserve the highest scores for AAA titles made by their advertisers and pressure reviewers to give these titles high scores. Gaming Journalist fired over a negative review

Originally Posted by screeg
Wow am I tired of this idiotic observation. Yeah, they're giving their customers what they want. There's no downside to that. It's like saying nobody should make western films anymore, since that's all been done now. That genre is expired. Let's keep moving on to new genres every year, maybe a reality-tv style movie.

Seconded.

Case in point: Project Eternity. They're taking some of the substance of games that had quite a following in the past, and they look at what worked and what didn't in those games. It's not totally innovative, but it's not just a big pot of nostalgia either. I really appreciate the refinement of the craft more than I would extremely innovative products that are buggy, unbalanced and simply otherwise flawed.

Originally Posted by Roq
Just got home and am downloading the game - notice 23,000 are already playing it right now on Steam, guess they can't all be pledgers.

It's been the highest selling game on steam last day or two I think. Playing it now, and liking it a lot despite the atrocius saving system in the game. Having no manual saves and no way to save when I quit the game and have to do other suff is not good.

Like the visuals and the atmosphere. The writing is ok. The combat system seems to be fine - if a bit simplistic.

However, the ultra linearity and super limited exploration are major turn-offs at this point. Haven't played for long - but I DO NOT like how guided the game seems to be - and how everything lights up in a room, so there's basically nothing to explore.

Anyway, if you're into a light adventure with some RPG elements - I guess it's cool.

But I have to say the setting deserves better. Then again, maybe it'll grow on me.

DArtagnan

However, the ultra linearity and super limited exploration are major turn-offs at this point. Haven't played for long - but I DO NOT like how guided the game seems to be - and how everything lights up in a room, so there's basically nothing to explore.

Yeah I agree - its a bit too linear. You clear one area, pick up the clues, move to the next area, repeat. Two hours in and there has been no real exploration so far.

Having said that, I'm enjoying the story, and I love the atmosphere and the setting. And the toolkit is going to lead to a lot of fantastic fan made adventures! So I'm really quite happy overall.

Downloaded and fired it up for what I guess amounts to the intro and the tutorial fight. Playing a dwarf shaman Like the looks of the game, love the portrait art. Especially like the music. Good writing so far.
Cons: hotspots highlighting, really? Meh, I thought this was supposed to not hold my hand?
Too tired to play more tonight.

3 hours in now, linear to a fault. I like the writing and the dialogue, and the look of the game is really cool. No exploration is the biggest bummer, this would have been a really nice world to run a bit more freely around in.

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
Cons: hotspots highlighting, really? Meh, I thought this was supposed to not hold my hand?

I don't mind the hotspot highlighting. Hunting the pixels is a very grindy adventure mechanism that I could well do without. The main challenge, that stops one rushing through the game should really be the turn based combat, I reckon.